{
  "id": 18606544,
  "title": "Usman Khawaja reveals ‘all of us’ involved in 2018 Australia sandpaper ball-tampering scandal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/usman-khawaja-reveals-all-of-us-involved-in-2018-australia-sandpaper",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T00:58:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/usman-khawaja-reveals-entire-australia-team-knew-sandpaper-ball-tampering-2018-10954114/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Australia cricketer Usman Khawaja has revealed in his memoir 'Sabr' that all members of the Australian team were aware of the sandpaper ball tampering incident that occurred during the 2018 South Africa tour. According to Khawaja, discussions about using the sandpaper tactic began during the previous Test match in Port Elizabeth, leading to the discovery of the sandpaper on the ball in the third Test in Cape Town. Khawaja stated, \"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.\" Despite being banned for a year and facing bans, the Australian bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon claimed they were unaware of the incident until they saw images of the ball on screen. The trio later released a joint statement, distancing themselves from any knowledge of the foreign substance.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "All Australian team members aware of sandpaper ball tampering, according to Usman Khawaja.",
    "Discussions about tactic began in Port Elizabeth Test match, leading to discovery in Cape Town.",
    "Australian bowling quartet initially unaware, later distanced themselves from knowledge."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Khawaja's claims challenge the established narrative of the 2018 scandal by suggesting that the entire Australian squad shared knowledge of the ball-tampering tactics used during the South Africa tour.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Whole Australia team knew of sandpaper use - Khawaja",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/whole-australia-team-knew-of-sandpaper-use-khawaja",
        "published": "2026-11-06T22:06:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}